Julia CunninghamManager Project Management| BattelleRichland, Wa, United States
The PM should be available as necessary to support the project schedule. When we have projects doing 24 hour a day operations (usually planned building outages), we establish responsible parties (usually PM and PM Manager) on a call schedule to provide guidance and direction as needed, for that duration. Most projects don't need that level of PM support. Saving Changes...
Kgobalale John MalatjiProjects Portfolio Manager | Noko-impJohannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Aug 03, 2016 11:17 AM
Replying to Stephanie Graham
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I am available 24/7 via company phone and email - but that does not mean that I work 24/7 and the company and our clients tend to understand that. There are scenarios where major issues come up and the technicians working on my team want to let me know or get my input on resolution options. I welcome those calls and emails. They're usually short in duration and it allows me to still have control over the work done or amount of time or costs spent.
I weed out calls or emails that are not priority for my normal business hours.
It seems to work out well.
Well put Steph Saving Changes...
Denise CantyAgile Coach, Life Coach, Author, Senior Project-Program Manager| Cenden CompanyWashington, Dc, United States
Aug 03, 2016 11:17 AM
Replying to Stephanie Graham
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I am available 24/7 via company phone and email - but that does not mean that I work 24/7 and the company and our clients tend to understand that. There are scenarios where major issues come up and the technicians working on my team want to let me know or get my input on resolution options. I welcome those calls and emails. They're usually short in duration and it allows me to still have control over the work done or amount of time or costs spent.
I weed out calls or emails that are not priority for my normal business hours.
It seems to work out well.
Do you have a backup in case you can't be available? Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
It depends on the type of project, working hours, and so many other factors so I would say it is a case by case issue but mostly yes, the PM should be reachable at anytime in case there is an emergency - At least this is how things work in Construction Projects. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Stephanie is you are available then you are working. And please let me say I understand your point because I am leaving the same situation from years. What I do is a mix between your and Stèphane comemnts. What I tried to say is that is a matter of PM or Program Manager decision but to be honest, except you decide take your personal time in order to make some work in advance, something is wrong if your team is calling to you instead to the subject matter expert which is the person that can solve any problem inside a project. As I mentioned, I understand your point because sometimes I am living the same. Saving Changes...
Scott SaleProgram Manager| KindredLouisville, Ky, United States
Similar to the agile "definition of done" what is your definition of 24/7. What is expected vs. available?
What type of project? What is the scenario?
This is not a yes/no question from my personal experience.
Example 1: If one of my project managers or myself are doing an application service delivery to a client and the rollout is to 24/7 company. During the rollout the project manager would be expected to by "available" 24/7 during that rollout. Are they expected to answer every incident or problem by HyperCare absolutely not. If the application crashes and there is a severe issue I would want to be/or my PM should be called. The last thing you would want to walk into at 8:00 is chaos. As the PM you know all the stakeholders and you will sometime to be called upon to run point and coordination during these types of incidents.
Example 2: Let's say there is DataCenter construction there is very little 24/7 work and coordination to be done. There is no expectation of availability but we as PMs do find ourselves with our laptops open throughout the night :) emailing away but that is a different story.
Again, I believe it depends on the project & scenario we are talking about as many IT projects managers are called upon and "expected" 24/7 to be available at some point or another. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I agree with Sergio that my role is to facilitate, not complete work.
While I may be called at odds hours to get someone, it usually doesn't happen often. Most of the time, I have people on call that take requests directly.
If I have done my job right, I don't need to be called. Saving Changes...
It really depends on the project and environment. What if your are in the phases of a major rollout? You as the PM are not doing the work; but if something goes wrong during some steps in the rollout... you may need to be contacted if something has changed in the plan unexpectantly. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
If something goes wrong during the rollout, Demetrius, it should be a question of implementing the contingency or fallback plans.
A plan, by it's nature, should not be changed unexpectantly. You might, however, introduce a corrective action plan.
During the rollout, I will be onsite and/or have designated people handling any fallout. Saving Changes...
Just no. If it's up to the PM to make or break it then there's something wrong. Nothing should be depending on only one person. These artificial bottlenecks and cravings for power should be banned. It's just too risky. Saving Changes...
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